5th artists’ books+ multiples fair

Yesterday I headed off to this event, which is held at irregular intervals (whenever the organisers have the energy, I suspect!) When I first heard about the fair in April, I was sure I would have at least one book ready to contribute. And probably if I had made it a priority I would have, so I guess that maybe it pays to put your entry in and have a goal to work towards. Like Weather is so close to finished, I am sure it could have been ready. Artists books are still a very new area to me though, and I hesitated, just wanting to know a bit more about the fair and the whole deal.

Organised by Grahame Galleries and Editions who have established the Centre for the Artists Book here in Brisbane, the fair was not huge, but wide ranging. The multiples included some big names, and I mean BIG: Louise Bourgeois, Dieter Roth, Ed Ruscha, Jenny Holzer and a felt postcard by Joseph Beuys.

Jenny Holzer: wooden postcards

Plus the works by the major Ausralian names in artists books: Peter Lyssiotis, Bruno Leti, Ron McBurnie, Milan Milojevic, Judy Watson, Angela Cavalieri, GW Bot, Anne-Marie Hunter and Tim Moseley - the latter two both "manning" their stands.

Nevertheless, I have to say that some of my favourites were books submitted by individual artists who, certainly to me, were less well-known. As is often the case, some of the most interesting work seemed to be done by the students from QCA (Qld College of Art). I often find that students are unafraid to experiment and are not so constrained by convention - often they have to "make do" with cheaper materials, so this probably forces them to be particularly creative.

Following are some images I have taken from the Graham Galleries website (without permission, but with only good intentions) and for lots more, I recommend you visit there. Hopefully next time this event is held, I'll have some works to enter.

As a great lover of folded books, this one by Helen Malone (above), entitled The Battle Within, took my eye.

As did this beautiful one below, by Clyde McGill titled the list (the coda). The textures of the paper and the ink, together with the layering effect from the semi-translucency of the pages really appealed to me.

This was one of very few altered books, using the old World Book Encyclopedia. Anyone of my era will surely remember them. By Anne-Marie Hunter.

This was really one of my favourites - a series of 10 ink and gouache images unbound in a box. By Peter Crocker.